NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

Guys there is already content on patreon, if anyone wants to become a jonnin, hogake or God Shinobi.

patreon.com/Chuga320 (Have than 50 additional chapters)

—————————————————————————————————————————————

After winning the championship in the 2009-10 season, the Bulls, led by Wang Chong, solidified themselves as a dynasty with three consecutive championships—something that hadn't been seen in the NBA since Kobe and Shaq's Lakers. Wang Chong, with his average of 44 points per game in the Finals, led the team to glory, and on a personal level, reached new heights of greatness. At just 25 years old, he already had 4 championships, 3 MVPs, 3 Finals MVPs, and 5 scoring titles. An incredible achievement for any player, which even placed him above many NBA legends in some aspects.

However, after the celebration, the first problems began to emerge. The Bulls, despite their dominance, faced two significant challenges that could threaten their near future.

The Aging Lineup

The first problem was the aging lineup. By the 2010-11 season, Garnett and Billups, two of the Bulls' "Big Three," would both be 34 years old. This age approached the critical point for a professional athlete's competitive status. Garnett, in particular, had already suffered a severe injury during the season and would likely miss a significant portion of the following season. It wouldn't be surprising if the performance of both veterans fluctuated in the upcoming year.

The Issue of Player Contract Renewals

The second issue revolved around player contract renewals. After the season ended, the contracts of two key players—Wang Chong and Marc Gasol—would expire.

Wang Chong was in the final year of his contract and had a player option. He could either exercise the option to stay with the team for another year or opt out and sign a more lucrative deal elsewhere. Most players with a player option typically choose to opt out in search of a better contract.

As for Marc Gasol, having been a second-round pick, he had signed a three-year contract with the Bulls. After this season, his contract would expire, making him an unrestricted free agent. Gasol had played exceptionally well this season, especially after Garnett's injury, providing crucial interior defense for the Bulls. In the playoffs, he more than held his own against the league's top centers, with the exception of Dwight Howard.

Gasol's value went beyond just defense; he had a reliable mid-range shot and a high-post game reminiscent of his brother Pau. He was emerging as a functional center who could be a key asset for many teams in the league.

Even if Gasol's long-term potential wasn't considered as high, there would still be teams eager to sign him to a big deal simply to weaken the Bulls. Losing Gasol would create a significant hole in the Bulls' frontcourt, and with the aging Garnett, the team could struggle to fill that void.

To keep Gasol, the Bulls would need to offer him a max contract, which could start at $13 million per year over 4 years, totaling $58 million. This would put considerable pressure on the team's finances.

Rumors had circulated that the Bulls' management had already tried negotiating with Gasol about a new deal, but the talks had broken down. The team had reportedly offered a more modest salary of $8 million per year, which Gasol's agent had rejected outright.

With Wang Chong, Garnett, and Billups already on $3 million contracts, it seemed unlikely that the Bulls' management would offer Gasol the max deal he was seeking. After all, they were not the owners of the Knicks, and not everyone was as generous as the Lakers' owner.

If the Bulls decided not to renew Gasol's contract due to his high asking price, their strength would certainly decline. While the rise of Curry as a new player on the team was a pleasant surprise, Gasol's role in the interior was irreplaceable.

Fans of the Bulls, still basking in the glory of three consecutive championships, couldn't help but begin to worry about the team's future development.

Of course, Wang Chong didn't see these as major problems.

First of all, others might not know the exact status of the two veterans, but as a time traveler, Wang Chong knew exactly how long the two could maintain their competitive level.

In the 2010-11 season, Billups played 72 games between the Nuggets and the Knicks, averaging 32 minutes per game, contributing 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. Although his stats were slightly lower than previous seasons, he remained a top-tier point guard.

Billups' real decline began after he suffered an injury while playing for the Clippers in the 2011-12 season. From that point on, he struggled with injuries and retired three years later after brief stints with the Pistons.

Garnett, despite being 35, still put up solid numbers in the 2011-12 playoffs, averaging a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. Although his regular season numbers were a bit inflated, they were still impressive for a veteran.

Basically, as long as Wang Chong didn't suffer any major injuries, there was no issue with these two veterans lasting for one or two more seasons. Their contracts would expire after the 2011-12 season, so their decline wouldn't significantly affect the Bulls' championship aspirations.

As for the issue of Gasol's contract renewal, Wang Chong had already come up with a solution.

Was the Bulls' owner unwilling to pay Gasol's asking price? Fine, Wang Chong wouldn't rush to renew his contract with the team after breaking his current one. When the Bulls renewed Gasol's contract, Wang Chong would discuss his own renewal at that time.

In recent years, the Bulls' owner had profited immensely from Wang Chong's success, raking in money from advertising deals with Chinese manufacturers at the stadium. If, after all that, he still wasn't willing to offer Wang Chong what he deserved, then Wang Chong would truly be dissatisfied.

Wang Chong didn't miss the Bulls and didn't care much about the whole "one man, one city" idea of loyalty. That was just a logic for fools. Players worked hard for the team for years, but when they were old and had no more value, they were traded or released. This was a business league, a world of business. There was nothing to be done.

But it was one thing to leave the team, and another entirely to leave and join forces with several other top stars to form a superteam.

——

A few days after the Bulls won the championship, the team held a championship parade in Chicago. This was the third consecutive year the Bulls had held such a parade, but the fans in Chicago were not tired of it at all. In fact, they were even more excited and enthusiastic.

Three consecutive championships! The Bulls had created a dynasty, something unprecedented in the league.

With these three championships, the Bulls now had a total of nine championships, ranking third in the league, only behind the Celtics and the Lakers.

At present, the Celtics were still the team with the most championships in NBA history, with 16 titles. Due to Wang Chong, the Celtics couldn't form their Big Three in the 2007-08 season, nor could they win their 17th championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers, ranking second, had 15 titles. Although Kobe lost two championships due to Wang Chong, the Lakers during the Shaq-Kobe era had won four consecutive championships with Wang Chong's help, making them the second-best team in NBA history, just one title behind the Celtics.

In third place were the Bulls, with nine championships.

In fact, even without Wang Chong, the Bulls' six championships had kept them in third place for many years, until the Warriors won their seventh championship in 2022, surpassing the Bulls for third place in the league.

Wang Chong wasn't sure if the Bulls could surpass the Celtics and become the top team in NBA history before his retirement, but if they were to do so, he would need to lead the Bulls to at least 8 championships. With his current 4 titles, this would put him just one championship ahead of the legendary Bill Russell.

Wang Chong wasn't sure if he could achieve that, but all he could do was give it his best shot. If possible, of course, he would be willing to do it. He could monopolize various NBA records and leave his name in history for a long time. It would be a waste of his time-traveling ability if he didn't.

After the championship parade, Wang Chong immediately entered vacation mode and went to Hawaii with Jessica Alba to spend time together, as if his job in the NBA had already ended.

For other players, this would be the case, but for a "ball tyrant" like Wang Chong, who was directly involved in team building and player selection, there were still many things to address.

The start of free agency on July 1st was a very important and critical juncture for all NBA teams.

Wang Chong's move was a silent slap in the face to the Bulls' management.

It wasn't until the media reported the news that it was revealed that the Bulls' management had already reached out to Gasol in advance.

This made Wang Chong feel somewhat displeased.

Before leaving for vacation, he had already vented his anger to Gasol, telling him not to worry. When the team renewed Gasol's contract, he would discuss his own extension with the Bulls.

This move was to ensure that Gasol wouldn't decide to sign with another team out of frustration.

Although Gasol was a restricted free agent, he could only join other teams if his current team declined to match an offer sheet.

But Wang Chong was genuinely concerned that the Bulls' management might decline Gasol's offer and not tell him.

After all, over the last few decades in the league, there had been quite

a few idiots who behaved like fools.

Of course, this was also because the 2010 draft itself didn't have any players particularly worthy of Wang Chong's attention.

The most notable player in the 2010 draft was Paul George, the 10th overall pick, followed by John Wall, the number 1 pick, DeMarcus Cousins, the 5th pick, and Gordon Hayward, the 9th pick.

The Bulls' three consecutive championships had nothing to do with any high draft picks, and the only valuable player among the lower picks was Hassan Whiteside, a second-round selection.

Whiteside was a useful player, and his shot-blocking ability on defense was as good as Gasol's. However, his rise would have to wait until he trained hard in the CBA for two years, and even if he proved his worth, Whiteside would still be a role player and his strategic value would always be much lower than Gasol's.

Therefore, Wang Chong didn't consider selecting Whiteside. Players with his role were easy to find in the league.

Wang Chong began to make waves, causing the Bulls' management to panic.

In recent seasons, the Bulls' draft selections had been completely determined by Wang Chong. Once the player targets were set, the management would use existing assets to make trades or select the players that other teams were eyeing.

So far, the Bulls had produced several high-quality players, including Monta Ellis, Paul Millsap, Marc Gasol, Stephen Curry, etc. Wang Chong's ability to spot talent had earned him widespread recognition from the management.

This time, Wang Chong did everything and then went on vacation to Hawaii without saying a word, immediately putting the Bulls' management under tremendous pressure.

Although the Bulls had traded their first-round pick last year to acquire Curry, Wang Chong's attitude demonstrated his dissatisfaction with the team's management.

Before the draft, Bulls' general manager John Paxson had called Wang Chong several times, inviting him to participate in the draft in the hopes of repairing the relationship.

But Wang Chong took the first call, made an excuse to skip it, and then never answered Paxson's calls again.

Paxson was now in a full panic. This general manager, who had just led the Bulls to three consecutive championships, was truly worried that if he didn't handle this situation well, he might become the first general manager in NBA history to be fired after winning three consecutive championships.

In the end, the Bulls didn't make any major moves in the draft but used their second-round pick to select an unknown young player, Derek Karakot, a power forward.

After that, the league entered a brief period of silence. It wasn't that nothing happened, but everyone was simply waiting for the free agency period to begin on July 1st.

In the summer of 2010, free agency was especially lively. All the contracts for the 2003 draft class were expiring, and stars like Wang Chong, James, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, and others were likely to test the market.

At the same time, the rookie contracts for the 2006 draft class were also expiring, with notable players like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo becoming free agents.

Any of these players could massively strengthen a team, and all teams with available salary cap space were waiting in silence for this moment.

With everything on hold, June passed, and July 1st arrived—the start of free agency!

End of this chapter

Note: Hi if you really like NBA novels, you can support me either in this pg with stones, reviews etc, or in patreon since the niche of sports and specially NBA is very small is Webnovel since people prefer to read Naruto, Pokemon, comics etc.